The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-10-21
TIE rREAs;uIRE.Y,,. SURPLUS.
THE Effect Of Tarfh Revision on the
Money supply OF the Country.

gress should remove the danger of
National apoplexy, in reducing the
present tariff at least one-half. The
Of the Secretary of the Treas
ury to reduce the surplus is a revival
of the old phlebotomy treatment
which killed Washington, according
to latest accounts, and is enfeebling
seriously the American people. 1t Is
as unreasonable to pursue this policy
in finance as in medicine. The one
thing needful is not the purchase at
an enormous premium of undue Gov
eminent bonds which draw low rate
of interest, but to stop picking the
pockets of the people. These same tax
ridden people have to pay on an aver
age nearly twice the rate of interest
for their loans, even on good security,
that the Government pays. Yet they
are being impoverished and the Treas
ury filed to a plethora to enrich a few
unconscionable syndicates, mOnOpolies,
trusts, combines and swindles. The
surplus should be kept out-not got
out The best prescription for an
overfed system is frugal diet Dos
ing with drugs and bleeding and all
the time stuf1ing with rich food is the
direct road to death.
1t is gratifying to note that there
are some New York bankers who seem
to understand the situation, and who,
instead of joining in the general cry
for Treasury relief, recognize the true
state of the case. Attention is called
in one Wall street dispatch to the fact
that ''the purchase of, the entire $14,
900, 900 within the time set will only
result in paying out of the Treasury
what tariff collections will scoop in
or less even than those tariff collec-
tions will amount to-" The president
of the New York Produce Exchange,
Mr.. Orr, says:
The bottom of the whole trouble is that the
Governments revenue is too large for all legiti.
mate expenditures, and money needed for or
binary circulation is tied up. Congress-, and
not the Secretary, is the only power to give
permanent needed relief There were other
opinions in Wall street and out that ran in
much the same vein. The Secretary might
help matters temporarily, but permanent re-
lief must be given by Congress.
This sensible suggestion should COM
mend itself especially to the members
of Congress from the West. There is
not one of them all whose constitu-
ents are really interested, except per-
haps a small segment, in the general
conspiracy to rob the public. The
people whom they represent, instead
of being sharers in the spOils of a
monopoistic tariff are consumers of
manufactured articles. The Western
farmer has nothing to gain and a
great deal to lose by exorbitant du-
ties. His corn, wheat, pork, beef, oats
and other marketable products are not
protected and made more profitable to
him by any tariff. Practically there Is
free trade in farm products and wal
duties on farm consumptions. Amore
one-sided arrangement could hardly
be conceived. Take for example WOO
and woolens. The sheep-raisers are
urged to insist on keeping up the old
tariff rates by the assurance that if the
fence is let down at all the wool duties
will be removed They are advised to
submit to the wooden duties and all
other duties rather than suffer cut
in wool Does the present price of this
article justify the claim that the tar
if insures a good price for heecesF
On the contrary, those farmers
who grow sheep are finding out
by experience that the wool tariff is
a delusion and a snare Statistics
show, too, that the division of the
spoils is peculiarly unfair. Last year
the tariff receipts from the duties on
wool amounted to s., 126, 108, while
those on woolens foot up S27, 278, 527.
In other words, the manufacturer got
nearly six dollars to the farmers one
dollar. Nor is that either all or the worst.
Besides imposing a tax of this magni-
tude on the country for imported
woolens, there is the far greater indi-
rect but no less burdensome bounty
on domestic wooden goods through the
enhanced cost of the same to the con-
sumers. The average rate of duty on
imported woolens is nearly 20 per
cent dd UulOren1. And as the con-
sumption of domestic woolens is not
less than 400 millions per annum,
these goods, without the war tariff of
20 per cent, were only worth 235 mil
lions, the loss to the consumers being
165 millions. The Al millions worth
of imported wooden goods. with the
81 millions of war tariff added, costs
the consumers IS millions, without
counting the middlemen's profits,
charged on the duties as well
as on the foreign value.
Thus it appears that in order to
procure q millions of unnecessary
revenue on imported woolens there is
added about 200 millions year to the
cost of the wooden clothing of the
American people. And this is called
protection. And for whose benefit?
beggarly five millions which are sup
! posed to go 10 the farmers (not one in
ten of whom owns q Sheep do not
/ offset 3 per cent. of this enormous tax
| on the consumers. The labOriL men
every where are improving every
opportunity to disclaim any RESPONSE
bility for continuing the war tariff.
The trades unions, the labor conven-
tions and industrial gatherings of diff
/ ferent sorts proclaim with untiTing
| iteration that the imposition of high
duties on the pretense Of benefting
them is fraud. Again we ask our
Western Congressman to go TO Wash
/ ington this winter. many of them for
the first time, determined to afford
their constituents relief from the out
/ rageous tariff extOrtion which is
/ blanketing the farms Of the West with
/ mortgages, rs well rs filling the
/ Treasury of the United Ssates with a
surplus which is deranging the money
market to the verge OF panic. Chicago
/ Tribune.
Old Lady (to grocer's boy
Don't you know. boy, that it is very
rude to whistle when dealing with a